Dog owners frequently ask how long the effects of stem cell therapy will last for arthritic canines and whether their dog may require additional treatments in the future.  The answer is a bit more complicated than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.  Each patient is different, and several factors may affect the outcome of stem cell therapy and whether the patient will require additional treatments.

Some of these factors include the severity of the arthritis at the time of treatment and your dog’s activity level.  A running buddy might require more treatments than a couch potato.  Typically, a dog will tell you by their behavior or a change in activity level whether a joint has become more painful.

Some dogs treated with stem cells experience prolonged relief. Baxter was treated twice approximately 3.5 months apart and hasn’t required an injection since 2015.  You can read Baxter’s story here.

In data collected by VetStem, it was determined that 63% of older dogs that received VetStem Cell Therapy were not retreated in the first year while 78% of younger dogs were not retreated in the first year.  Perhaps more importantly, according to volunteered survey data from owners, greater than 80% of dogs showed an improved quality of life after treatment with stem cells.

The good news is, should your dog require additional treatments, VetStem keeps a bank of your dog’s stem cells so that they do not have to undergo an additional fat collection procedure.

If you think your dog may benefit from VetStem Cell Therapy, contact us here to get a list of veterinary stem cell providers in your area.